Mapleshade's Motivation
by they cant if you dont let them
Summary: As she said these last words, she saw the blank look in Crookedstar's eyes replaced by confusion. "Revenge?" He looked at her with disbelief. "What did I ever do to you?" (Mapleshade's POV, during Crookedstar's Promise.)


Mapleshade waited in the heavy fog that lay over the forest's edge. She sunk her claws into the soft earth in anticipation. He would be coming soon; now that his wretched mate and their cursed kits were dead, he'd certainly want to find her.

She kept her fur flat as she watched Crookedstar's outline appear and become steadily solid. His eyes were shining with grief and anger as he stared at her. Mapleshade gazed back, unflinching. "Crookedstar," she addressed him coolly.

With a cry of anguish, Crookedstar threw himself at her, claws outstretched. Though unprepared, Mapleshade easily ducked to the side to avoid his swipe. _Foolish cat,_ she thought disdainfully. _Does he truly believe he can kill me?_

Still, the tortoiseshell she-cat was a bit glad that Crookedstar still had strength left in him to fight. There was more of his will and mind yet to crush.

Mapleshade bared her yellowed teeth and slammed her forepaws against Crookedstar's scarred muzzle. When he staggered back from the force and fell down, she took the opportunity to slash at his coat. But the massive tom was able to parry her blow. Hissing, he clawed at the rogue's ragged pelt. Mapleshade yowled in pain as thorn-sharp claws raked her back and pushed her back.

_Idiot,_ she thought, gritting her teeth. _You can't let him beat you, or this will all be for naught! _With renewed will, Mapleshade gained her balance and threw herself at him, claws outstretched. But Crookedstar slid beneath her and knocked her back legs away, causing her to miss her mark and stumble. While Mapleshade tried to get her bearings, the RiverClan leader leapt onto her back, digging his claws deep into her shoulderblades. She howled as she felt him bite around her spine. Then, with a burst of strength, Mapleshade pushed upward, making Crookedstar lose his grip and fly from her back. The brown tom hit the dark earth hard. She spun around and leapt onto his back, her twisted claws piercing his flesh. Staring into his eyes, Mapleshade was pleased with the emptiness she saw. _Perhaps I've finally gotten my revenge._

"Go on then, kill me!" Crookedstar hissed, his voice full of malice. "I've got nothing left to live for."

For a brief moment, she considered this. But then she remembered her plan, and curled her lip. "Oh, no," she meowed harshly into his ear. "Letting you live is far better revenge."

As she said these last words, she saw the blank look in Crookedstar's eyes replaced by confusion. "_Revenge?_" He looked at her with disbelief. "What did I ever do to you?"

At that, Mapleshade's heart filled with intense hate. She could remember oh-so-clearly what had led her to this place, down this path, to this moment. _Why not explain it to the fool? Perhaps he deserves at least that much._

Mapleshade pulled him back and gazed into his eyes, which still held that shocked glint. She hissed, "You were always destined to become leader of RiverClan. It was never anything to do with me. Your path was marked out by the stars countless moons ago."

She remembered that day, when she had mistakenly learned of the wretched kit's fate. How she'd loathed it, how she'd plotted-

But now was the time for her to explain, not reminisce. She continued, "But who cares about destiny except fools? _I _should have been ThunderClan's leader! But ThunderClan cast me out when I took a RiverClan mate."

She could remember it so clearly. Mapleshade had just been apprenticed when she'd noticed him at her first Gathering. Stonepaw was the handsomest, strongest, smartest cat she'd ever seen, and Maplepaw had fallen deeply in love with him upon chatting with him. He seemed to be enamored with her, too, and they met upon the riverbanks at sunset a few moons later- on ThunderClan's side, since Maplepaw couldn't swim. Time went on, and Mapleshade and Stoneclaw became warriors. Still, they met by the river. She had _loved _him. And he'd told her that he loved _her_, and only her.

When she'd had her kits, the entirety of ThunderClan was curious about the father's identity. So Mapleshade had secretly told the one cat she'd trusted- Lilypelt, her sister. She still remembered the look her beloved sister had given her when she'd told that Stoneclaw was her mate. Mapleshade should've known better than to trust anyone. She was naïve, ignorant, too innocent. Lilypelt and Icewing had been the ones to escort her and the kits to the edge of their territory- two of her closest friends. It hurt.

The rains had been heavy, and waves of water continually crashed onto the stepping stones. She had been foolish to think that she could take them across safely, but she was afraid and thinking only of what lay across the swift current and shore- RiverClan and Stoneclaw. So Mapleshade gently picked up Mistkit in her jaws and urged Pinekit onto the first stone. It was slippery beneath their paws, and Pinekit wailed as the cold waves lapped at his paws. They were halfway across when the water churned and seemed to leap onto the stepping stones, knocking Pinekit into the current and carrying him along as he bobbed up and down in the water. Forgetting Mistkit, who she grasped in her teeth, Mapleshade had panicked and jumped in after Pinekit. But she'd forgotten, in her haste, that she could not swim. Mistkit was swept from her jaws and was pulled into the churning waters. Mapleshade managed to drag herself onto the shore, and padded along the stream, calling out for her kits.

She would never forget the sight of their small bodies, drenched and limp, washed up on the sandy shore.

Suddenly shaken out of her thoughts, Mapleshade growled and shoved her muzzle into Crookedstar's face. "Familiar, eh? Oakheart isn't the only traitor you know," she hissed, twisting her claws deeper into his skin. "Our kits were perfect! But they _drowned._ After ThunderClan cast me out, I tried to carry them across the river to their father's Clan. But the water snatched them from my grasp and carried them away."

Mapleshade felt Crookedstar struggle beneath her to escape her sharp claws, but she pulled him back to face her. "Oh, no!" she growled. "You must listen to the whole story. Their father blamed _me_! And RiverClan cast me out, too. Can you imagine what that feels like? To be rejected twice? To be a loner when all you tried to do was to love?"

Mapleshade thought back to that horrible sunrise. Enveloped in grief, she'd managed to reach the RiverClan camp. There, she approached Stoneclaw. At first, he'd seemed so happy to see her, and especially so when she told him that she intended to join RiverClan. But then he noticed that their kits were not with her. He asked her, confusion clouding his gaze. Mapleshade had to tell him, so she quietly told him that they'd drowned in the flooding river.

His words after she told her stung like deep wounds.

_How could you let them die? You wanted them to die, didn't you? You were angry that they made you get exiled from ThunderClan, so you threw them into the river to die! You fox-heart. We cannot be mates, and I shall not allow a kit-killer to join my Clan._

He, a silver tabby named Reedtail, and a tom named Fernwhisker chased her into the woods. There Mapleshade stayed as a rogue, watching from the shadows as life went on without her, as Stoneclaw took Reedtail as his mate, as they had four healthy, strong kits.

As they all forgot her.

Then, one day, Reedtail wandered by the hollow oak tree that Mapleshade had begun to live in. She was straying over Sunningrocks and close to the forest edge. Mapleshade's mind filled with anger as she watched. After a while, she realized that no one else was around.

It brought her a strange glee to see Reedtail's blood across the rocks.

Mapleshade still retained her ThunderClan scent, and Reedtail's body also picked it up. When a RiverClan patrol found the body, they were understandably convinced that a ThunderClan cat had killed her (which _had_ happened, in a sense).

Another part of her revenge was to start this, the conflict that would ultimately cost both Clans many cats- including Fernwhisker and Icewing, two cats who had driven her out.

She took her revenge slowly, drawing it out over moons, seasons. Mapleshade attacked Lilypelt- her sister- when she was out hunting, and ruined her beautiful face, clawing at her eyes, her ears, her throat, so that she could not see or hear or speak to tell the others who'd attacked her. Even Stoneclaw fell victim to her greed for revenge. He didn't see her creep up behind him, didn't notice her until she'd knocked him off the edge of the gorge.

Her revenge stretched far.

She eventually remembered the kits- the kits that should never have been born. Yes- she was certain- this would be part of her revenge- that these kits should die.

It had been so simple, so easy to steal them from the RiverClan nursery and throw them, wailing, into the heavy current that had claimed Mistkit and Pinekit so long ago. But she forgot one- one kit, Larshkit.

Moons later, Mapleshade died of greencough, alone in the woods, forgotten by all.

Shaken out of her thoughts by Crookedstar beneath her, she continued. "But don't worry, I made them pay. I looked for revenge whenever I could! Why do you think I'm here?" Mapleshade glanced around the clearing. "I _earned_ my place in the Dark Forest. But what made it worse was that the father of my drowned kits took a RiverClan mate! He promised he would only love _me_! They had a daughter, and she had a son, and do you know who that son was?"

Beneath her, Crookedstar looked bewildered.

"Shellheart," Mapleshade hissed. "Your father. Do you see now? Do you understand?"

He _had_ to realize what this meant. But he shook his head. "Understand what?"

He was so stupid! Mapleshade hissed in anger and drove her claws deep into his flesh. "You mouse-brain!" she growled. "_My_ kin should have been the leader of RiverClan, not his! If ThunderClan hadn't driven me across the river, my kits would never have died. If RiverClan hadn't rejected me, _I'd_ be their father's mate, not some fox-hearted RiverClan queen." Her mind swam with the weight of remembering it all. "I've endured so much betrayal! So many cats have hurt me beyond measure. And then _you_ came-" here she hissed- "destined for so much greatness, when you should never have been born." Mapleshade released him and pushed him away with immense force. "I wanted to test your loyalty. I wanted to see if you were as weak and disloyal as your kin. I wanted to see if you'd betray be like _they_ did." Circling him angrily, she stared at him with rage. "Do you remember what I said? Do you remember my exact words? _I can give you everything you ever dreamed of, power over all your Clanmates, if you promise to be loyal to your Clan above all other things. DO you make that promise?_" She saw his eyes fill with horror and realization. "And you did!" she hissed. "You _promised_! You chose to sacrifice every cat you ever loved. Your mother, your brother, your mate, and now your own kits; From that promise, I could take them all!"

Crookedstar stared at her, eyes wide with fear and guilt. "You're crazy!" he whispered in shock.

"But I'm also dead," she meowed harshly. "Which means you can't hurt me!" She barged past him into the Dark Forest, shoving him aside.

Behind her, Crookedstar faded into the foggy air, and Mapleshade was once again alone.


End file.
